The Two Wanderers
by I-Write-FF
Summary: After James leaves the safety of Vault 101 it is up to his daughter, Alexis, and her girlfriend, Amata, to follow in his footsteps to discover why he left, where he went and how they can help. FemSlash. FemLoneWanderer/Amata.
1. The Vault

**I do not own Fallout 3**

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**July 13****th**** 2258.**

"Push!" James said, holding his wife's hand reassuringly.

Catherine gave him a brief look of annoyance before giving a final push as her child was born.

"It's a girl," James announced as he picked the baby up, "we've got a beautiful baby girl Catherine."

"James, we did it." Catherine said in between quick breaths. "We did it, a girl."

James smiled at the baby as she her eyes wandered around the dimly lit room. "You've got a bright future, I'm sure of it. I'm your daddy. You're going to need a name, your mother and I have been talking, what do you think of Alexis?" James held the baby before turning her slightly until she was facing Catherine.

Catherine smiled at Alexis. "You're beautiful." She said laughing.

James turned Alexis back to him. "It's a big world out there, with all sorts of people. What kind of person will you be -?"

Catherine interrupted him, clutching her arm as machines began to beep frantically, "James."

"Catherine!" James said glancing at the monitors. "She's in cardiac arrest, get the baby out of here." He said to another woman.

**July 13****th**** 2259.**

"Come over here Alexis." James said from inside the playpen. Alexis looked up him from the floor before shakily getting to her feet and walking over to him. "Good girl, only a year old and already walking like a pro. Your mother would be so proud of you." James smiled as he walked out of the playpen. "I know you don't like it when Daddy leaves you alone, but you need to take care of yourself for a minute while Daddy runs to his office. I'll be back before you know it." He said as he closed the playpen gate and left the room.

Alexis looked at the door for a few minutes before reopening the playpen gate and heading to her toy box. Alexis picked up her teddy bear from the toy box and held it firmly. She couldn't quite remember when she was given but she had a faint memory of her father giving it her.

"Quite the explorer aren't you?" Alexis heard her father say from behind her. "Serves me right for trying to pen you in." Her father walked from the door to a stand near the toy box. "See this?" He indicated the photo on the stand. "It was your mother's favourite passage from the Bible. Revelation 21:6. 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely'" He smiled although it was a sad smile. "Enough of that, let's go see if your little friend Amata wants to go play.

**July 13****th**** 2268.**

It was Alexis' tenth birthday and she was at in her room alone expecting somebody to give her a Pip-Boy at some point in the day. Although she was not close to any of the kids in the Vault, except Amata, nobody had wished her a happy birthday. Her dad had left earlier in the day citing an emergency work situation and Amata had said nothing.

And so Alexis sat in her room reading an issue of Grognak the Barbarian when the intercom in her room went off. Alexis looked at it and saw it coming from her Dad's Pip-Boy. She quickly pressed the answer button and spoke into the receiver, "Yeah Dad?"

"I'm in the cafeteria, can you come down for a second?" her father asked.

"On my way." Alexis responded. She gave a small sigh before grabbing a few bobby-pins from her drawers and pulling her hair back and heading down to the cafeteria.

As she glanced through the window of the cafeteria she realized the lights were all out, covering the room in darkness. As she entered the room she was blinded by the sudden brightness of the lights being turned on and deafened by the shouts of 'surprise' and 'happy birthday'.

Alexis' dad stepped forward from the main cluster of people consisting of him, Amata, Officer Gomez and Amata's father/The Overseer. "Happy birthday darling, I'm proud of you. If only your mother -."

He was interrupted by The Overseer stepping forward. "Congratulations, young woman. I don't have to tell you how special this day is, do I? Now that you're ten, well, you're ready to take on official Vault responsibilities." He took a Pip-Boy out of the pockets of his jumpsuit and held it outward. "Here you are. As Overseer, I present to you your own Pip-Boy 3000. Get used to it, you'll be getting your first official assignment tomorrow." He finished before walking to a table with Old Lady Palmer.

Alexis' father looked at The Overseer as he left, rolling his eyes. "You're only ten once, so enjoy this day while it lasts." He said before joining the Vault maintenance technician, Stanley, at a table.

Amata walked from where she was stood, her hands holding something behind her back. "Happy birthday." Amata said happily. "I bet me and your dad really surprised you with this, huh?"

"Yeah, you did," Alexis admitted sheepishly, "thanks for doing this."

Amata laughed, "You're dad did all the organising, I just put up some of the decorations. But you're welcome. Anyway, I bet you can't guess what I got you, go on, guess."

"A date with Freddie Gomez?" Alexis joked.

Amata made a mock face of disgust, "Ew, gross. I didn't even think you liked boys. I got you something a lot better than that. Issue 14 of Grognak the Barbarian with no missing pages." She said proudly holding the comic in front of her.

Alexis took the comic with glee, "Where did you find this?"

"In a box of my father's old things." Amata replied with a laugh. "I can't imagine him reading comics but I guess everyone was a kid once. Anyway you should 'mingle' with everyone else, we'll talk later." Amata said before heading to the table Stanley and Alexis' father.

Alexis looked around before deciding to talk to Old Lady Palmers. Old Lady Palmer smiled as Alexis approached and asked, "Are you having a nice party dear? Ten years old, seems like only yesterday you got here…" she paused for a second as she got lost in her thoughts, "Goodness, I'm rambling. You're waiting for your present."

"You didn't need to bring anything Mrs Palmer". Alexis said, and she thought it was true considering she only knew Mrs Palmer as she was the grandmother of her father's assistant Jonas.

"Poppycock, I was ten once you know and all ten year olds like presents." Mrs Palmer looked around the room sadly. "The Vault was so crowded when I was ten but there's so few young people now. Ooh, I'm rambling again and you're still waiting for your present." Mrs Palmer picked up a plate that was next to her seat that had a sweetroll on it. "I baked it this morning. And it's all for you, so no sharing."

Alexis smiled to herself and quickly ate the entire sweetroll before heading over to Stanley. "Hey, champ, enjoying that new Pip-Boy?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am, did you fix it up?" Alexis replied.

"Sure did," Stanley responded with pride, "some people say the Pip-Boy 3000 is trash but that ain't true, the 3000A is the most reliable model out there."

Alexis nodded, "Well thanks for fixing it up for me."

"That ain't all I got you." Stanley said pulling a baseball cap out of his pocket. "I thought it'd be useful for when you play baseball."

"Thanks Stanley." Alexis said placing the cap on her head.

The rest of their conversation was cut short by Andy the robot. "Attention everybody." It said as everybody tuned to look. "It is time to cut the cake." Before anybody could stop it, it had cut directly through the cake with a buzz saw, sending pieces of cake across the floor.

Everyone stood in silence for a few seconds before a chuckle rippled through the room and everyone returned to their conversations.

Alexis looked around at the remaining guests, deciding who to talk to when she felt a hard tapping on her shoulders. Turning around, she gave an internal sigh at the sight of Butch DeLoria, Vault bully and all-round asshole. "What do you want Butch." Alexis asked with annoyance.

"I'm hungry and that stupid robot destroyed the cake." He said angrily. "Give me that sweetroll you got from Old Lady Palmer!" he demanded.

Alexis gave him a mock look down, "You do look hungry. Did your mom trade all the ration coupons for vodka again?"

Butch's eyes flashed with rage, "Don't you talk about my mom like that, you whore!" he yelled before he started swinging his fists.

Officer Gomez quickly grabbed Butch and pushed him back to his table before turning to Alexis and asking, "You alright hun? Did he get you?"

Alexis shook her head, "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

Amata waited until Officer Gomez had sat back down before she began to rant, "What is Butch's problem? I can't believe he tried to start a fight with you at your party, he's such a jerk."

"Please, he's lucky Gomez stopped the fight before I could start hitting him." Alexis replied with a grin.

"Sure, that's exactly what I was thinking." Amata's eyes wandered past Alexis. "I think your dad wants you."

Alexis turned around to where her father was stood, waving her over and walked to him. "Yeah dad?"

"Follow me." Her dad ordered as he walked out of the cafeteria.

Alexis nodded before running up to her dad and walking next to him. "What's happening?"

"Jonas wants to give you your present away from The Overseer. But before that, what happened with Butch?"

"Nothing I can't handle dad."

"Glad to hear it. Once you start letting people push you around, you'll never see the end of it."

The two continued to walk in silence down the stairs to the reactor level before Alexis and her father approached Jonas. "Hey little lady, enjoying your party?" Jonas asked once she neared.

"Yeah it's pretty good. My dad said something about a present?"

Alexis' father began to speak, "Well, now that you're old enough for a Pip-Boy and old enough to do some work I figured you're old enough for this." He said before picking up a BB gun from the ground. "Jonas found it down here in pretty bad shape, took us three months to get it all working again. Do you know how hard it is to find a spring that small? Good thing Butch 'misplaced' his switchblade." He finished with a smile. "Ready to give it a try?"

Alexis furrowed her eyes in confusion, "What can we even shoot down here?"

"Jonas and I made a small shooting gallery for you. C'mon." The three walked through a nearby door to where Alexis saw three targets lined up near a back wall. "You come here whenever you're free."

Alexis hugged her dad tightly, "Thanks, dad. Can Amata come down as well?

"As long as she doesn't tell anybody about it, I don't see why not. Now c'mon see if you can hit the targets."

After nine shots, Alexis finally hit all three targets before a small screeching caught her attention.

Her father glanced at the source of the screeching. "It's a Radroach, see if you can take it out with your BB gun."

Alexis nodded before taking careful aim and firing two shots, one striking it in the leg the other though the head.

"Nicely done. Jonas take a picture of me and the big game hunter."

Alexis smiled as Jonas took the picture.

**October 12****th**** 2272\. **

Alexis and Amata both stood in the medical lab; Alexis repairing the desk and Amata restoring the terminal after a particularly aggressive patient had trashed the room after a check-up. Alexis glanced at Amata as she sat at the chair to repair the terminal. The years had definitely been kind to Amata, in Alexis' opinion, Amata had become taller since puberty, her face softening and her breasts growing. Alexis blushed slightly as Amata turned and looked at Alexis who quickly looked away.

"All done." Amata announced proudly. What time is it?"

Alexis glanced at her Pip-Boy "16:50." She replied.

"Nearly recreation time. Want to head to the cafeteria and get something to eat?" Amata asked as she marked her 'restore terminal' job as complete in her Pip-Boy.

"Sure." The two headed down to the cafeteria and sat down at a table after getting their meals.

The pair chatted for around ten minutes before noticing Ellen DeLoria, Butch's mother, stand from her table in the corner and drunkenly stagger away. The two snickered as she left, it being no secret in the Vault that Ellen was a raging alcoholic who would let any man have his way with her in exchange for vodka or food ration coupons.

As the two finished their meals and took their trays to the bin, Alexis stopped Amata and pointed at the table Ellen DeLoria had just left. Amata looked for a few seconds before seeing what Alexis saw; two bottles of vodka dropped on the seat as Ellen left.

Amata felt her eyes widen in shock at what Alexis was planning, "You know we're not allowed to." Amata began to lecture.

Alexis rolled her eyes and grinned, "We've got no jobs for tomorrow, we'll just go to a storeroom, nobody will even know."

Amata let out a deep sigh, "Fine, grab them and let's go."

Alexis quickly gathered the alcohol and hid them in her jumpsuit.

The two found themselves minutes later in an empty storeroom and both hesitantly began to drink from the bottle. An hour later the pair were undeniably drunk, with Amata laying on the floor and Alexis slumped against the wall.

Alexis took a deep breath, it was now or never to tell Amata how she really felt about her. "Amata, you how we've been friends for literally years?" Alexis slurred.

Amata took another mouthful of vodka before nodding, a smile playing on her lips. "Yeah. What about it?" she asked, moving over to where Alexis was.

"I kind of like you. As in really like you. As in more than friends." Alexis stated, her face turning a deep red as she looked at the ground.

"Okay." Amata replied.

"Okay?" Alexis repeated, "Any other thoughts on that?"

If Amata had any more thoughts she did not verbalise them, rather she brushed her fingers along Alexis' face and brought her face up until the two were facing before Amata lent forward until she gently brushed her lips against Alexis'.

The next hour was a drunken blur with the two teenagers exploring each other's bodies before the two both drifted into a content sleep in each other's arms.

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**Review please.**

**The next chapter will cover the G.O.A.T until the two escape the Vault.**


	2. GOAT

**August 3****rd**** 2274.**

Alexis sighed as she pulled herself out of bed. Today was the day that was unanimously agreed to be both the most important and the most useless day of a vault dweller's life. The G.O.A.T. or General Occupational Aptitude Test, was a test taken by all vault residents at age 16 that single-handily decided what job they would have based upon what they would be good at and enjoy.

Alexis knew it wouldn't be too bad, considering after the test they got the day off, likely to emotionally recover from a potential bad result.

Amata had already agreed to meet Alexis outside Alexis' Dad's office so Alexis decided to make her way there and talk to her father while she waited.

Her father looked up from his terminal as Alexis entered, his typing stopping instantly as he smiled at Alexis. "So, today's the big day then?" James asked.

Alexis nodded and attempted to smile although the nerves were beginning to kick in. "Yep. Today I find out what I'll be doing forever."

"You'll be fine," James said reassuringly. "It might not even be forever, you never know how things change."

"True, but is the test even right? It sounds too good for a test to actual know what you're best for," Alexis said.

James laughed. "Officially I can't say it doesn't work. Unofficially though, I'll say that a test can never define you, but if you don't get what you like, talk to Mr Brotch about it."

Alexis blinked in confusion. "You mean I can just pick what I want?" she asked.

"Not officially, but I'm sure Mr Brotch can pull some strings for the daughter of the only doctor. But enough of that, shouldn't you be on your way?"

Alexis looked at the time on her Pip-Boy. "I'm supposed to be meeting Amata here but I guess I'll just go now." Alexis hugged her father before leaving the room and running straight into her father's assistant, Jonas.

"Hey Jonas," Alexis said. "Sorry, can't stop and talk, got the G.O.A.T. now."

Jonas let out a chuckle. "No problem, I've got to talk to your dad about a project anyway. Good luck though."

Alexis left and turned down the corridor and saw exactly why Amata was late. Butch, Wally and Paul, also known as the Tunnel Snakes, surrounded Amata. Butch had his back to Alexis and she could hear his mocking tone as she approached. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the Overseer's daughter. What's the matter going to run to daddy?" Wally and Paul both laughed loudly at Butch's words.

"Just leave me alone Butch, I don't need to my dad to deal with you." Amata crossed her arms angrily.

Alexis felt her anger grow and stormed up behind the unaware Butch before shoving him into the wall. "Keep talking Butch and deal with me."

Butch recovered from his fall and spun around to look at Alexis. "You know, I wouldn't normally hit a girl, but for you I'll make an exception." Butch punched Alexis in her chest, even he was smart enough to not hit anywhere that marks would be visible.

Alexis pulled back her fist and struck Butch directly in his face, drawing a trickle of blood from his nose.

The two continued to scrap for a minute before Butch waved his hands in defeat. "Enough," he said before looking at Amata. "I'll deal with you when your dyke of a girlfriend isn't around." Butch left and entered the classroom, flanked closely by Wally and Paul.

Alexis waited until the Tunnel Snakes were in the classroom and out of earshot, before she turned with concern to Amata. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"I don't need you taking care of me," Amata said haughtily before she deflated and smiled. "But thank you." The two smiled at each other before making sure nobody was watching and kissing briefly. "Now let's do the G.O.A.T."

The two walked to the classroom, where Mr Brotch was stood waiting. "Nice of you two to join us," he said jokingly. "Now if you'll take your seats we can get started."

The two nodded and walked to their seats, Amata at the front and Alexis near the back.

Mr Brotch waited for everyone to settle and pay attention to him before he spoke. "Alright everybody, time for the infamous G.O.A.T. Now, remember there are no wrong answers, so be honest. Now, begin."

Alexis took a breath before turning over the test and reading the first question 'You are approached by a frenzied Vault scientist, who yells, "I'm going to put my quantum harmonizer in your photonic resonation chamber!" What's your response?' Alexis looked at the question in confusion, _the hell does that even mean_. Alexis picked the only answer that made sense to her 'Say nothing but knock the man out with a pipe.'

The next question involved what you would do if a patient came in with a strange infection, and Alexis chose to pick the medicate answer.

The third question was about a young boy that had stolen items, Alexis chose to turn him in to the Overseer.

The fourth question asked which baseball position you'd want to play most, Alexis grinned happily as she remembered her childhood of playing baseball and checked the designated hitter option.

Confusingly, the fifth question asked what you would do if your grandmother asked you to kill another resident and Alexis picked honestly and said she would try to convince grandmother to change her mind through bartering her possessions.

The sixth question asked how you would get an old man out of his locked room, Alexis decided upon picking the lock.

Seventh question asked about a strange scenario involving radiation and a third arm growing, Alexis picked the obvious answer of anti-mutagen and anti-radiation medication.

The eight question asked how you would obtain an issue 1 of Grognak the Barbarian, with Alexis answering honestly and saying she would simply sneak in and take it.

The ninth question asked how you would prank your father, with Alexis deciding on loosening pipes.

Alexis audibly sighed as she read the final question which was asking who was the most important person in the vault, with every answer being the Overseer. Alexis picked an answer at random and walked to the front of the class to get her results.

Mr Brotch smiled as he read the answers before saying, "Looks like the Vault has a new fry cook."

Blinking in disbelief, Alexis whispered, "That's bullshit, can't you change it?"

After looking around, Mr Brotch replied quietly, "I can pull a few strings with your results, you can either be a fry cook, doctor's intern or repairwoman. Your choice."

Alexis thought about for a few moments. Fry cook was an insant no and doctor's intern meant she would be spending all her time with her father. "Repairwoman," Alexis decided. "I can handle repairing things for the rest of my life."

Little did she know, in less than three years her life would change forever.

**Alexis' SPECIAL is 8, 5, 5, 4, 7, 6, 5 and her tag skills are Medicine, Melee Weapons and Repair.**


	3. Escape the Vault

**August 17 2277**

The blaring siren roused Amata from her slumber. Amata wondered what the siren was before deciding to ask her dad, the Overseer, about it. She dressed herself in her jumpsuit before heading for her dad's office.

Standing outside her dad's office, Amata paused when she heard her father's angry voice. "What do you mean James has gone?"

Another voice, that Amata recognised as the Vault's Head of Security, Chief Hannon, responded quickly. "He's left the Vault, Sir. He used the escape tunnel in your room and left."

Amata's father gave a frustrated sigh before he addressed all in the room. "Hannon, interrogate Jonas for everything he knows about this. Kendall, you find James' daughter and find out what she was told about this. Gomez, try to kill as many of the Radroaches as you can. Mack, you stay here with me in case anything happens."

Having heard enough, Amata quickly ran back to her father's bedroom and grabbed his 10mm Pistol before sprinting to Alexis' room, sneaking passed the guards and Radroaches. Approaching Alexis' room, Amata glanced around her, making sure she wasn't seen by any guards.

Entering the room, Amata shook Alexis until she woke. Alexis looked around dazed, before looking at Amata. "Hey, Amata," Alexis said flirtingly. "I was just dreaming about you."

Amata shook her head. "No, this is not the time for that," she said seriously. "Your dad has gone missing and my dad has sent his goons after you."

Alexis furrowed her eyebrows and blinked in confusion. "What do you mean my dad's gone," she asked.

"He's left the Vault, my dad's sent people to find if you knew about it. Did you know anything about it?" Amata questioned.

Shaking her head mutely, Alexis visibly deflated with sadness. "He didn't tell me anything. I've got to find him," Alexis said determinedly.

"Apparently there's an escape tunnel in my dad's office. We can get out through it."

Alexis couldn't help but smile when Amata said 'we' but soon became serious and grabbed her baseball bat. "Ready?" Alexis asked. Readying her pistol, Amata nodded and the two crept quietly out of the room and down the corridor.

The two stopped when they saw a Vault guard being attacked by a group of Radroaches. Amata held out her arm, stopping Alexis from interfering as she whispered, "That's Officer Kendall, my dad ordered him to find out what you know."

"We can sneak past while he's distracted," Alexis replied, making her way down the corridor.

The two were too slow, Kendall immediately looked up as he eliminated the Radroaches. "Both of you stop now," he ordered, holding his baton threateningly and advancing swiftly.

Amata aimed her pistol but hesitated with her finger over the trigger. Alexis didn't hesitate, the moment Kendall was within range, she swung her baseball bat at his face, cringing as his mouth became a bloody mess of broken teeth and his body crumpled.

Amata's hand rushed to her mouth in shock. "Oh my God," she exclaimed. "Is he … ok?"

Alexis rushed to his body and checked for a pulse on his neck. Apparently being the daughter of the Vault doctor came with some vicarious learning. "He's alive. He's just unconscious," she replied.

Visibly relieved, Amata nodded. "Let's go before he wakes up then."

Continuing down the corridor, the pair slowed at the sound of running footsteps from around the corner. The two had a mixture of thankfulness and frustration when Butch came around the corner and spotted Alexis and Amata. "You two, you gotta help me," he said, his voice full of desperation.

Amata narrowed her eyes. "We've got bigger things to worry about Butch," she countered. "My dad's gone crazy and Alexis' dad has left the vault, we don't have time for your little problems."

"Please, it's my mom, she's locked in a room full of Radroaches," he said with despair.

Alexis considered laughing at Butch, telling him it was ironic that they were the only people that could help, telling him to deal with it himself. "Fine, we'll do it" she said resignedly. "But we're doing it for your mom, not for you."

Amata sighed but nodded, readying her gun. Alexis adjusted her grip on her bat, before they both entered Butch's living space and heading to the bedroom.

Opening the room to what Butch said was 'full of Radroaches', the pair saw four Radroaches swarming an obviously scared and drunk Ellen DeLoria.

Amata fired a shot at the Radroach furthest from Ellen, its body exploding from the bullet's impact, showering the wall with blood. The Radroaches paused their attack at the loud gunshot and Alexis took the opportunity to attack, slamming her bat on the Radroach closest to her, the creature squeaking weakly before it died.

One of the Radroaches sprang through the air towards Amata, its pincers opening threateningly. Amata panicked, instinctively waving her pistol in front of her which connected with the insect's face. The Radroach landed, disoriented, before Amata stomped on it repeatedly, until it was a mess of detached limbs and blood. Alexis dealt with the final Radroach kicking it into the air and swiftly swinging her bat, the insect landing dead.

Butch ran in happily, having watched the fight through the open door. "You did it," he exclaimed joyfully. "You saved her." He took off his leather jacket and held it out. "Take it, you're going to need all the protection you can get."

Alexis nodded, taking the offered jacket, and putting it on. It was not a good fit; the arms were slightly too long and the bottom of the jacket was halfway to her knee. Still Alexis nodded gratefully. "Thank you Butch."

The pair continued through the Vault, pausing when the saw a guard with his back to the pair, fighting a group of Radroaches. Andy the robot was also present, burning the insects with his flamethrower while swiping at the close ones with his Buzzsaw.

The waited quietly in the doorway, letting the guard and Andy take care of the rodents. When all the roaches were dead, the guard turned around, revealing himself as Officer Gomez, and spotted the girls hiding by the door and approached them. He looked at the girls and seemed to be considering something to himself before he spoke carefully, "You know, the Overseer wants both of you girls to be interrogated." Amata subtly adjusted her gun, readying her finger over the trigger while Alexis not so subtly held up her bat, before Gomez spoke again. "But then again, he only ordered me to kill Radroaches, so it's not my job to bring you in." He grinned.

"Thanks Office Gomez," Alexis said, lowering her bat. "I always did like you."

Gomez smiled and nodded. "Least I could do, you dad's done a lot of good for the Vault. But you two bests be off, before somebody sees you."

The two girls nodded thankfully before heading to the Atrium. Amata stopped suddenly holding out her arm in front of Alexis, "There's voices," she whispered.

Alexis listened carefully and peaked around the corner seeing a man and a woman talk. The man was glancing at another door behind him talking to the woman, "Don't you see Mary," she said exasperated, "We could get out as well, if the doctor could do it we can."

The woman, Mary, shook her head. "Tom, the guards are everywhere, we can't go," she said.

Tom didn't listen and instead ran to the door he was glancing at and yelled, "It's me, Tom Holden." Gunshots rang out and Amata and Alexis could only look on in horror as Tom's body collapsed, blood pouring from various bullet wounds.

Amata ran and grabbed the crying Mary who had turned to run to Tom's body. "You can't do that, they'll just kill you to," Amata told her.

Mary sobbed loudly, "They killed him! They killed my Tom."

"They'll kill you as well if you try anything. Just go to your room and hide."

Mary continued to weep but nodded, looking at Tom's corpse before slowly walking the direction that Amata and Alexis came from. Amata waited for Mary to be out of earshot before speaking in hushed tones, "Those guards just killed a man to stop him leaving. They would only do that if my father ordered them." Amata looked crestfallen, realising her father had truly gone mad trying to stop everyone.

Alexis tried to console Amata. "Maybe the guards were corrupt or trigger-happy. Your dad might have had nothing to do with it."

Amata looked sad but shrugged. "Maybe you're right. Let's find my father and find out for sure." The two snuck to the other side of the Atrium and to a corridor, the guards unaware of their presence.

Continuing up the corridor, the pair killed multiple Radroaches stopping when they saw another guard pacing a room. Amata looked at the guard before whispering, "That's Chief Hannon, my father ordered him to interrogate Jonas."

Alexis had an idea. "Jonas! We can ask him what he knows about all of this."

Unfortunately, Alexis spoke too loudly and Hannon spun around, advancing quickly. "Stop you two, the Overseer has ordered we bring you in," he said authoritatively, already pulling up his gun.

The girls looked at each other briefly before making their choice, Amata aiming her gun and Alexis preparing her bat. Amata fired the gun, Hannon screaming loudly as the bullet shattered his right kneecap, screaming again when Alexis smashed his left kneecap with the bat. Hannon fell to the floor in pain and Amata quickly grabbed his gun and emptied its ammo, leaving him defenceless on the ground.

The two headed through a room, Alexis stopping when she saw a corpse on the ground and bending down to examine it. "Oh God," she muttered.

Amata looked at the corpse. "You knew him?" she asked.

Nodding, Alexis replied sadly, "Floyd. He was one of the other Vault repair workers. And now he's dead."

Amata rubbed Alexis' back soothingly. "We've got to find out what's going on."

Alexis nodded, straightening back up. The two continued, Amata stopping when they neared the Overseer's office. "My dad is in there with Officer Mack" she informed Alexis. "What do you want to do?"

"We need to find out what he knows," Alexis replied. "So, we're going to deal with Mack and ask your dad what the hell is going on."

Amata nodded and the pair entered the Overseer's office speedily, giving the occupants no time to respond. The Overseer ordered, "Officer Mack, do something!"

Mack reacted quickly, grabbing his baton and swinging, narrowly missing Alexis' head. Alexis noticed his lowered defence and struck, slamming her bat into his stomach, making him double over in pain, before she swung her bat upwards into his face, sending him backwards into a desk where he did not get up from.

Amata went over to her father angrily asking, "What is going on? Why are guards killing everybody?"

The Overseer replied heatedly, glaring at Alexis, "Her father has thrown the Vault in to chaos. Now everybody thinks they can leave. I'm just trying to protect everybody and keep the order."

Amata began to cry. "So, you did order the guards to kill people? You're protecting everyone by killing them!" she yelled.

The Overseer tried to sound reassuring, "It's for their own good Amata. They don't know what's best for them, but I do."

Amata adamantly shook her head. "You're best for nobody." She turned to look at Alexis. "Come on, let's go find your dad."

The two left, leaving the shocked Overseer behind. The two walked into the science office, seeing another corpse on the ground. "Jonas," Alexis yelled, running to his corpse. Studying the body, Alexis could see the blunt force trauma, likely due to repeated hits from a guard's baton. "Who did this to him?" she asked Amata.

"My father ordered Hannon to interrogate him," Amata replied. For a brief moment, Alexis considered going back to the defenceless Hannon and getting revenge for Jonas. "He's not worth it," Amata said, having guessed what Alexis was thinking.

Alexis sighed but nodded. "Maybe he knew something and wrote it down," she said, searching his pockets. She found a Holotape with her father's handwriting that said, 'Note from dad'. "Look." Alexis showed the tape to Amata.

"We can listen to it after we leave," Amata said. "My father has probably sent more of his thugs after us. The escape tunnel is in his room, if we're quick we can get out."

Approaching the door, Alexis attempted to open it, but it refused. "It's locked," she stated.

"I know where my father keeps his spare key." Amata ran out of the room while Alexis stood and watched for any guards. Amata quickly returned and unlocked the door and went to the terminal. "I already know the password," she announced. With the terminal unlocked, Amata selected the command, 'Open Overseer's Tunnel" causing the desk in the centre of the room to open revealing a descending staircase.

The pair went down the stairs and through a secret room, leading to a large area with an iron gear shaped door and a control panel. "This is the way out," Amata said in awe. "This leads outside."

Alexis looked at the control panel before pressing buttons at random before successfully pressing the right one, as a loud alarm went off and the gear door began to open.

"Amata," the Overseer's voice sounded from behind them. Alexis and Amata turned to see the Overseer flanked by two guards on either side of him. "Amata, stop this foolishness, and we can forget this ever happened." Amata shook her head. "I'm your father and the Overseer and as such I order you to stop." His voice was cracking, his anger showing.

This only incensed Amata more. "You are not worthy to be the Overseer," she yelled, as the Overseer's eyes widened with a mixture of shock and rage. "You are a power-hungry monster who orders your bullies to kill whenever somebody disagrees with you."

"For their own protection, Amata, we've been over this," he spoke with condescension, the way you would speak to a young child who was having trouble grasping a simple concept.

"Protection!" Amata angrily shouted. "Where was _my_ protection when the Tunnel Snakes were harassing me? No, you are just a thug who thinks it's either your way or the wrong way." The Overseer opened his mouth to respond, but Amata interjected, "Don't try to defend yourself. You've appointed yourself Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Now, Alexis and I are leaving." The two girls began to walk towards the open door.

The Overseer turned to his guards and ordered, "Stop them now!" The guards pulled out their pistols and opened fire, Alexis and Amata sprinted as fast as they could through the door, bullets whizzing by them.

The door closed loudly behind them and the two were left alone with each other, the Vault behind them and an old wooden door in front of them. The pair stood in silence for minutes, realising they had both left the only place they had known as home. "We can do this," Alexis said, grasping Amata's hand, and interlocking their fingers.

Amata smiled. "Us against the world," she said. The two took a breath before leaving the Vault and entering the Wasteland.

* * *

**So that's the tutorial out of the way**

**Now there's been actual combat, as well as characters reacting to the chaos and trying not to kill, I never understood how in the game the Lone Wanderer was so nonchalant about casually killing and seeing corpses with no reaction.**


	4. Megaton

Blinded by the natural sunlight they had never grown accustomed to, Alexis and Amata both instinctively covered their eyes for protection. After a few minutes of resting on the ground, their eyes had grown used to the light and the pair looked from their location for any clue of where to go, breathing heavily as the adrenaline wore off.

Amata pointed a little down the path. "There's houses over there. Houses probably mean people," she reasoned.

"Sounds like a plan." Alexis got to her feet and began to make her way towards the houses, Amata close behind her.

The two approached the houses but became dejected when they realised they were empty and destroyed. "Damn it," Amata complained, kicking a small piece of rubble in her anger. "I thought we might have been getting somewhere."

Alexis didn't hear Amata's comments, her attention being transfixed on the round robot that was floating daintily through the air. "Amata…" Alexis said, still staring at the robot.

Amata turned, seeing the robot which had now began to loudly play the American national anthem. "Why is there a floating robot at an abandoned town?"

The robot seemed to pause in the air before lazily making its way over to the two girls. "I bet its spying on us," Alexis conspired.

Amata nodded in agreement. "Let's back up," she decided. The two took a few paces back before Amata aimed her pistol and unloaded her clip at the still stationary robot, until it exploded in a shower of sparks and metal debris.

"Nicely done." Alexis sniggered. "But, where do we go now?"

Looking around momentarily, Alexis spotted a large steel structure not too far away. "We could go over there," she suggested, pointing at the location.

Shrugging, Amata replied, "Better than nothing."

Making their way over to the new place, the girls kept a wary eye on their surroundings.

As the two approached the dome structure, which seemed to be made of a mishmash of vehicle parts, they spotted another robot, thankfully this one stood on two legs and acknowledged the girls. "Welcome to Megaton," the robot said in a synthetic voice. "We promise that the bomb is perfectly safe."

"Megaton?" Alexis said in surprise, as Amata cautiously asked, "Bomb?"

Before the two could discuss this with each other, the part of the dome closest to them rumbled loudly, before part of it was pulled away, revealing a large and sprawling town inside the dome.

The girls gasped at the metropolis inside before hesitantly entering the town craning their heads in an attempt to take all of it in.

The two stopped abruptly at the sight of an imposing black man dressed in, as the girls knew from the occasional film night at the Vault, full cowboy attire, including a duster and sheriff's hat. The man chuckled softly to himself. "More newcomers from the Vault," he stated. "Mind telling me what you're both doing here"?

The girls looked at each other before Alexis replied, "My dad left the Vault."

Amata added, "So we left to find him."

The man glanced at the two of them before nodding. "Alright, as long as you're not planning on starting any trouble. Because let me get one thing straight, this is my town and these are my people. If you even think of hurting either of them, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your fuckin' skulls."

The girls looked at each other again in surprise at the man before nodding. "No problem, sir" Amata reassured. "Message received." Alexis couldn't help but cringe slightly to herself at how Amata had immediately regressed back to her training from her father on how to handle authority.

The man smiled. "None of this 'Sir' Bullshit. The name's Lucas Simms." He offered his hand out, "And you are?"

Amata shook the hand tightly. "I'm Amata Almodovar," she informed formally.

Alexis shook the hand next, "Alexis Neeson," she replied. "Now that that's all out of the way, how about you help me find my dad."

Lucas studied Alexis' face intently before looking down at her Vault Jumpsuit. "Yeah, your dad came through here, and then he left," he started. "No clue where he went to, but if you ask around town I'm sure somebody heard something."

Alexis sighed in frustration. "Ok, who can help me out then"?

"There's Moriarty at his saloon up there, Moira at the supply store, Doc Church at the clinic, and I'm sure other people around probably paid attention to the newcomer." With every building mentioned he pointed to in the general vicinity of its location."

Alexis nodded. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

Lucas grinned in response before becoming serious. "I hope you find him," he said with sincerity, before walking away.

The girls looked at each other before Amata spoke, "You're call, where shall we go next"?

* * *

Please review. A poll has been created on my profile about which quest should be done first, feel free to answer.


	5. Wasteland Survival Guide Radiation

**Well, Wasteland Survival Guide won, so here's a chapter on the worst part of the quest; getting irradiated.**

* * *

Alexis groaned in frustration. "I want to find my Dad," Alexis said, her voice becoming more exasperated with each word. "But if he's not here, we need to get supplies."

Amata shrugged. "Your call. The sheriff said supplies are at Moira's store, which was…" she paused, trying to remember which way Lucas Simms had pointed to. "That way." She decided, already walking down the hill and up a staircase.

Trusting Amata's memory, Alexis followed suit. The two walked above a building, until they were stood outside a large shack that had 'The Craterside Supply' written crudely next to the door. "That sounds right," Amata said.

Alexis nodded and pushed open the door, holding it open for Amata to enter. The girls gagged instantly, as a foul smell assaulted their senses, smelling like a mixture of soil, sweat and dead animals.

Exiting out of the side room, came a red-haired woman. "Oh, hello there." The woman said, her tone excited. "Don't mind the smell, just running a few experiments. Anyway, I'm Moira, what can I help you with?"

Covering her nose, Amata responded. "We need supplies."

Moira clapped her hands happily. "We have those. If you have the caps, I can get you sorted."

Alexis and Amata looked at each other in confusion. "Caps?" Amata asked.

Moira nodded slowly, the smile falling from her face. "You know, caps? Currency."

Alexis shook her head. "We don't have any of those," she told Moira.

Moira looked in thought for a second before smiling to herself. "Well, there are other ways to get supplies. I'm working on a guide for surviving in the Wasteland, and I need helpers to … help."

"What would we need to do?" Amata asked.

"Nothing too bad for the first chapter," Moira reassured. "I just need to know the best ways to handle radiation, where you can find food, and how to survive a landmine filled settlement." Moira said this in a tone that she may have used for discussing the weather.

Alexis dragged Amata to the corner of the store to discuss the opportunity in relative privacy. "I know she sounds a little crazy but we do need supplies," she tried to persuade.

Amata looked incredulous. "'A little crazy'," she repeated. "She wants us to irradiate ourselves and go to a place full of explosives."

"Ok, she sounds more than a little crazy," Alexis admitted. "But, hear me out. If we're out here we need to know how to deal with radiation and we're going to need how to find food."

"And the landmines?"

Alexis shrugged. "She's crazy, but we need supplies."

"Fine," Amata relented. "But we call it quits if this gets too bad."

Alexis grinned and nodded before yelling to Moira, "We'll do it!"

Moira smiled and removed a Vault-suit that was hanging behind the shop's counter and handing it to Amata who gratefully put it on. The suit looked exactly like the normal Vault-suit other than the various leather plates attached at the arm, chest, and legs. "If you're going to help me you'll need to some protection. I was patching this up for somebody else from the Vault but they never came back to collect it. Anyway, for the first chapter you'll have to get irradiated, find food or go to a place full of landmines. Which do you want to do first?"

The two girls glanced at each other and had a silent conversation. "Radiation," Amata said, going on to explain, "we can probably just stand in the water by the bomb."

"Ooh, good thinking," Moira complimented. "Now, you can come back after you get 200 rads, but for a really good chapter you'll need at least 600 rads."

"Got it," Alexis said, grabbing Amata and pulling her out of the store while wondering what a rad was.

Amata had the grace to wait until the pair were safely down the stairs and stood near the bomb before speaking. "She was crazy," she said.

Alexis laughed. "True, but she's giving us stuff and we'll learn how to survive in this Wasteland."

"Fine," Amata conceded. "Now, 600 rads?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Alexis said, trailing off as she stared at the water surrounding the bomb. "I guess we just stand in it for a while."

Amata nodded and stepped into the water, shivering slightly as the cold liquid met her skin. Alexis soon followed, coping better than Amata did. The two stood in silence for a minute. Before Amata spoke something that was on her mind. "Moira gave me this." She gestured to her new armoured Vault-suit. "But, she said she was holding it for someone else from the Vault." Alexis nodded, prompting Amata to continue. "That means somebody else must have escaped the Vault before us," she explained.

Alexis understood what Amata was saying. "But who?" she asked. "I can't think of anybody that disappeared." Alexis was vaguely aware that her chest and stomach were beginning to ache likely due to the radiation.

"We wouldn't have been paying attention," Amata rationalised. "I mean, think of all the people in the Vault we never saw or paid attention to." Like Alexis, Amata was also feeling the aches in her muscles, as her legs also began to falter slightly.

"We'll ask Moira about it when we get back," Alexis promised. "Until then let's focus on our job."

The two stood until their legs almost gave way, the breaths were laboured and their arms hurt to move. Eventually Amata had had enough. "That's it, we're done," she determined, slowly making her way back to Moira's shop, with Alexis trailing behind her.

Pushing open the door, the two were met with an excited Moira who gave a small whoop of happiness as she saw the two. "You two are positively glowing," she said eagerly. "Well, how do you feel?" she asked.

Amata replied first. "I can practically feel my entire body screaming in pain," she said.

"Interesting," Moira replied thoughtfully. "Too much radiation might not be good for the body _or _mind."

Alexis shrugged. "Yeah, it hurts but I'm sure I could live with it."

"Maybe radiation causes delusions of false stamina," Moira said, more to herself than Alexis. "Or maybe some people are better at dealing with the rads than others are." She snapped to attention. "Anyway, let's get you two cured up."

She pulled out a syringe full of a murky orange and brown liquid and plunged it into Amata's arm who winced, but did immediately look better. Alexis held out her arm and felt the needle enter her and also felt better as the concoction took effect.

"Job well done guys," Moira said. She handed the girls two containers of pills and two drip bags full of brown liquid each. "Some Rad-X and Radaway, my way of saying thanks for letting me test some drugs on you and accidently twisting your DNA like a cat with a ball of yarn."

"Thanks," Amata responded sarcastically, still rubbing her arm where the needle was used. "Guess we'll head to find food next."

* * *

**I would say review, but I hated writing for this quest. But, review anyway.**


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